Researchers Find Correlation Between Female Board Members and Company Success

Companies with female board members have outperformed companies that had an all-male board by 26 percent over the past six years, according to new research from Credit Suisse. Surprisingly, this financial success was most dramatic when share price performance was volatile -- specifically, from 2008 on.

"Stocks with greater gender diversity on their boards generally look defensive," wrote the study's authors. "They tend to perform best when markets are falling, deliver higher average ROEs through the cycle, exhibit less volatility in earnings and typically have lower gearing ratios."